Mai Love
by raindrop13
Summary: Chalek goodness.
1. Chapter 1

Alek POV:

Chloe was playing music in her room while I sat on her roof, waiting for morning to come. I was hyperaware of the text messages she was sharing with Brian, but I was trying to ignore them in order to preserve my sanity. The girl had to be screwing with me; that or she was blind.

Jasmine sat next to me with a soft thud. "Hey. Watcha up to?" she asked. I sighed.

"I'm watching for the Order. The real question is what you're doing here. It's my job to watch Chloe at night," I said. Although this wasn't a written rule, it was unspoken between us. Jasmine had several suspicions about my feelings for Chloe, but I knew I could trust her to keep them to herself. She cared about Chloe, but she was also my cousin and one of my only true friends.

"You're exhausted. You need some sleep," she said. Concern was etched in her eyes and her fierce protectiveness was shining through. I shook my head.

"I'm fine. Chloe needs me," I said, trying to convince myself as much as I was trying to convince Jasmine.

"No I don't!" Piped up a familiar voice. I held back a smile as Chloe climbed up onto the roof next to us. "Sup,"

"Chloe, you should go back to bed," said Jasmine next to me. "You need your sleep,"

"Not tired, don't want to. Want something to eat?" she said chirpily.

"Why are you up here?" Jasmine asked.

"I could ask the same of you. Alek's the one who's always here. But, if you must know, I'm lonely," she said, crossing her legs and laying her hands in her lap.

"Well Alek can keep you company. I've got to get home," she said, winking at me behind Chloe's back. I rolled my eyes, but internally loved her more than ever.

"Sooo. What do you usually do up here?" she asked, leaning back so that her hair fell on the roof.

"Watch for the Order," I lied. Normally I listened to her, but she was next to me right now. So much better.

"Thank you," she said, sitting up and looking me in the eyes.

"It's my job," I muttered, breaking the eye contact.

"Not to stand in the freezing cold rain just because I asked you to. Or train me to get better at hearing things. That's not your job. And you don't have to sit up here with nothing to do just to make sure I don't get hurt, not every night. So thank you," she said. Her eyes glinted with gratitude. I shrugged awkwardly. One of my smart alec comments definitely didn't fit here. "Want something to eat? I'm hungry because Mom ended up having a business dinner, and I swear I have the cooking skills of a raccoon," she said, blushing from the seriousness of the previous moment.

Gracefully she climbed down from the roof without another word, presumably to get a snack. I gazed up at the stars, one leg stretched before me, the other bent to help with balance. I heard rummaging downstairs and Chloe came back up with a bowl of cherries and strawberries, a second bowl, and two cans of diet soda. "Help yourself! Put the seeds and stuff in the second bowl, though, because I think Mom would be a little curious to find cherry pits strewn about the roof.

"Don't mind if I do," I said, taking one of the strawberries as she handed me one of the sodas.

Chloe eating cherries was odd, to say the least. First she would remove the stem. Then she would cut the thing in half with her teeth, removing the pit and finishing it off. She did it with each cherry, over and over, like a ritual. It was fascinating, watching her little mouth devour the tiny fruits. "You're staring," she said before plucking another cherry from the bowl.

"Sorry. You eat cherries peculiarly," I pointed out, trying to stop watching her. I couldn't; her mouth was always tempting but now, with a tiny trail of cherry juice dripping along her lower lip, I couldn't resist. She licked it away and I swore at myself for the urge to kiss her. I needed a reminder that she wasn't mine. "How's Brian?"

"Ugh. Don't remind me. You know, he didn't wait for me? He just came back because my phone was in the car seat. Which _could_ have been forgiven, before he claimed the credit for it. And he acts like there's nothing wrong with that! So I wouldn't know how Brian is. I'm not speaking to him," she said angrily. Crap. There goes my plan, flying out the window at light speed. There she goes with the cherries again. Won't they ever run out?

I wanted to kiss her. I _needed_ to kiss her. Badly. Couldn't she see what she was doing to me?

"Anyway, Amy's coming over tomorrow. So you don't have to come. Because, you know, I have a feeling we'll be incredibly boring," she said, giving me the distraction I needed.

"What are you guys planning on doing?"

"Oh! Well, I've got the seven seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer on DVD so we'll finish at least one and two. Amy wants to give me a manicure, but I don't know how that will work with the whole claws dilemma. Basically we're going to stay up till two being girls," her eyes lit up with an idea. "Jasmine should come! You know, she doesn't really have that many friends," she said with a worried little frown.

"Jasmine is fine," I said, watching how her eyes relayed her emotions so easily.

"Whatever. Will you invite her? She needs some fun. You both take the whole 'protectors' thing way too seriously," she said. I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, your life is definitely not important at all,"

"Oh, please. You know I don't want to die again. But the assassin guy is _dead_ and you guys are doing a great job. I'll be fine. Loosen up," she said, her lips forming the most tempting, alluring shape. I really couldn't help myself.

"Since Brian is out of the picture are you planning on dating anyone?" I asked. She laughed.

"If this is your way of checking up on me, you're fine. No more flirtations with humans. I have no idea what I was thinking. I don't think I _was_ thinking. I mean, how far could a relationship progress without a kiss?" she growled at her own failure to consider it thoroughly.

"You could kiss me," I whispered. Crap. Double crap. I didn't mean that. Well, I did, but I didn't mean to say it. She whipped her head up and I looked down.

Chloe POV:

I could tell he was serious. He wasn't smirking. I'd always liked him, but he was Alek. He couldn't like me back, he was the jock and I was the freak. But did he really want to be in a relationship with me? I thought back. He did have a tendency to be sweet, but he also had a tendency to be annoying. "Do you mean that?" I asked in a breathy, hushed murmur. He shrugged, but I knew he did by the way he averted his eyes.

"Just forget it. You don't like me," he said and he started to get up. I grabbed his arm.

"You don't know that," I exclaimed as quietly as I could before pulling him to me and kissing him on the mouth. God that felt good.

He stiffened momentarily before pulling me closer.

Alek POV:

This was a dream, it had to be, but I didn't ever want to wake up. Chloe's lips were soft and sweet, but were filled with her determination as she pushed them up against mine. She pulled away after a moment and looked at me with curiosity and fear in her eyes. I grinned back at her and the fear was replaced with relief. I slowly let my lips touch hers again. "You should go to bed, Chloe," I murmured sadly. Thankfully she didn't pull away to answer me, both of us keeping our eyes closed and speaking softly. Her breath smelled like cherries.

"Tomorrow's Saturday. No school. And Amy's coming anyway so it's not like I'm planning on sticking to my sleep schedule," she argued. She had a point.

"Fine. But you can't just stay up here and kiss me. I have to watch out for the order," I reminded her. I wished she could, but the fact was that I didn't have enough self-discipline to focus on protecting her when we kissed.

"Stupid protector," she pouted. I laughed.

"I'll help you clean up," I said, quietly, not wanting to disturb this peacefulness. She nodded and grabbed the bowl of cherry pits and her soda. I stuck my unopened can in the now empty bowl of former strawberries and cherries before following her through the window. Her room was pretty much the same as when I'd come before, to tell her that Valentina wanted to see her. I still felt guilty that her Mom had come in.

I let Chloe put everything away, her grace seeping out in spades. She bounced over to me and frowned. "You're tired," she accused. I shook my head. "Yes you are. There are circles under your eyes," she pointed out, stroking one with her thumb. I sighed.

"I'm fine, Chloe," I assured her. She shook her head at me before standing on her tip toes and pressing her lips against mine. I grinned. Wrapping my arms firmly around her waist I lifted her onto the counter. She wrapped her legs around my abdomen, loosely. Moaning a little her hand threaded itself into my hair while her arm held my back. I let myself get lost for a moment before I pulled away. She frowned at me. "Sleep," I reminded her, before unwrapping her legs. I knew she was tired, and she proved me right by yawning. The clock read 2:51 am.

I picked her up bridal style and she leaned her head against my chest. "Do you really want to be together?" she whispered sleepily.

"I want nothing more," I told her truthfully, setting her on the bed.

"Go home. Get some sleep. You'll be no fun if you're tired," she said with a yawn.

I laughed. "Okay. I'll come by in the morning," I said, kissing her cheek and slipping out the window silently as she fell into a dream.

I raced to the apartment breathlessly. Jasmine was still up, waiting for me. "How'd it go?" she asked me eagerly.

"Well. Uh. It went… well," I said with a grin.

She gasped. "Tell me everything, you secretive Brit!" she cried, slapping my chest.

"We may have… kissed," I said, turning away with a smirk as she froze.

"You may have _what_? Oh my gosh! Alek! That's awesome!" she cried. I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah well I'm sure you'll be able to gush with her and Amy tomorrow night. You're sleeping over," I grinned at her as she bounced up and down on her toes. I honestly don't think I'd seen her so excited, ever. Not even when her Mom got her a new bamboo staff. Not even when the Uniter first came around.

I collapsed on the bed, more tired than I had realized. Chloe and Jasmine were right, not that I would ever admit it. I was exhausted. I fell asleep with my jeans still on, but not before setting the alarm. I didn't want to be late for Chloe.


	2. Chapter 2

(Thank you guys so much for all the reviews! I'll be sure to take your ideas into consideration!)

Chloe POV:

I woke up the next morning to find a note on my nightstand.

Chloe-

Called into work. Be back around Six. Have fun – order pizza for everyone if you get hungry.

Love Mom

I sighed and rolled over. "I guess that means we have a day to ourselves," said an unmistakable British accent. I groaned. "After last night I thought you'd be happier to see me," he purred at me. I could hear the smirk in his voice.

"Happy to see you, not to wake up," I growled at him. He chuckled.

"I could fix that," he said. I felt a weight beside me on the bed and a pair of lips on my bare shoulder. Then my phone rang. I sighed. I was getting up whether I wanted to or not.

I grabbed my phone and shot Alek a look. "Hey Amy. What's up,"

"Nothing, just checking up on my best friend,"

"Oh. Well, just to let you know, Jasmine's joining us tonight. And you're going to have a heart attack later," I said. She squealed.

"OMG! What happened? Wait, don't tell me. Yes, tell! No, wait. I want to hear it later. Oh, and if Jasmine's coming, make sure she knocks. I don't want another Mai-induced heart attack, just the good gossip kind,"

I laughed. "Well, mine's kind of both. Bye, Amy," I said, hanging up and letting her think that over. "What has you in such a good mood?" I asked Alek.

He grinned. "You," he said before flopping on my bed with his hands behind his head. "Jasmine is _very_ happy about us," I groaned.

"You _would _have told her," I said, before crawling up to him and kissing his cheek. He grinned.

"I couldn't explain my absence any other way. Or, rather, my presence. She's used to me staking out your roof all night," he said, wrapping one of his arms around my waist and kissing my lips firmly. I smiled and pushed up further against him, sealing the gap between our bodies. My phone beeped the batman theme, signaling a text from Paul. He'd set the ringtone himself. A call was Superman.

I sat up, but Alek held me tight. "I have to go see what Paul said," I told him. He grinned.

"No, you really don't," he said, pulling me back down for a kiss. I kissed back for a moment before rolling off the bed and grabbing the phone again.

**plz tell Amy what u meant. it's killing her, which is killing me. – ur sidekick**

I laughed. ** no way. I'll tell her later. – Chloe**

"What great, important thing did Paul have to tell you?" asked my annoyed boyfriend.

"Nothing. C'mon, I need to do something productive or I'm going to feel really guilty about this weekend," I said, grabbing his hand and dragging him towards the door. He pulled me up to him, so close I could smell his shampoo.

"I'd say it's already been pretty productive," he said, lifting my chin to kiss me gently. He wrapped his arms around my back, pressing me up against him as I angled my head to kiss him better. I sighed and pulled back.

"I have to brush my teeth and hair and shower and stuff. Go get some breakfast," I said. He grinned. I expected him to make some comment about the shower but he just kissed my forehead and headed downstairs at a very inhuman speed.

I opened my closet and glanced around it, choosing dark washed jean shorts and a scoop neck T-shirt that Mom had given me. It was my favorite T-shirt because it was so soft and it was my favorite shade of pink- the kind that you find on the inside of a seashell. I also grabbed the jean jacket that Amy had gotten me for my birthday, and some short heeled sandals, but I left those in my room. I also grabbed underwear, obviously.

I showered as quickly as I could and changed into the outfit I'd chosen, brushing and drying my wet hair and scrubbing my teeth until I was sure I tasted like mint. I changed into my jacket and shoes, proud to see that I'd made a record time of thirty minutes to get ready.

I walked down to see Alek glaring. "You literally have nothing to eat. Okay, not literally. But your food supplies are pitiful," he said. I laughed.

"Told you. Cooking skills of a raccoon, which I inherited from my mother. Mostly we just get take-out," I reminded him, pecking his lips. "C'mon, we'll grab something to eat later. I promised Lana that I'd work today, seeing as how I've been cutting to go training with you guys," I informed him. He nodded, but I could tell he wasn't happy. I decided to play with him a little. I leaned up to his ear and whispered "But I'm sure we can have some fun later," before I turned and headed for the door. I could feel his eyes on me. I looked over my shoulder. "You coming?"

Alek POV:

I was drinking coffee while Chloe caught up on missed time. Even though yesterday it was just the usual, I couldn't help but want the feeling of her next to me. I missed her voice.

The store was slow, as usual, so she was doing inventory and reorganizing racks of clothing. Chloe had kept her word and we'd gotten a muffin before she started, but I was still feeling deprived. After all, I'd been in love with her since she'd put her lives on the line to help the brother of that boy she'd killed with her kiss. So classically Chloe.

I was surprised that Amy and Paul weren't here, but then again they didn't necessarily know that Chloe would be working today. They were probably off somewhere on a date.

Chloe's phone vibrated and she picked it up and frowned. She ignored it and set it on the counter. I got up and walked over to her. "Who was that?"

"Brian. Still insisting that he's in the right. And asking me out, even though he knows that not only am I mad at him but even if I weren't I wanted to be just friends," she said, jotting something down in the inventory catalog with more force than necessary.

I tried to keep my emotions in check, but if Brian hurt Chloe any more, I would kill him. Honestly, I might just kill him, period.

Chloe POV:

I noticed that Alek was clenching his fists. His knuckles were white and his face was hard as stone. "Alek, don't do that. You'll hurt yourself," I said, stroking the pale knuckles of one of his hands and taking it in mine while I absentmindedly marked that we needed more shoes.

"Or him," he muttered so softly I don't think he meant me to hear it. Nonetheless he stopped looking as angry and instead focused on messing with my hair while I counted the number of sweaters from afar. A female customer who looked just a little younger than me walked in.

"Hi, can I help you?" I called out, not really wanting to leave my current spot.

"No, just browsing, thanks," she said, just loud enough for a human to hear. I smiled at her. She seemed shy. If she didn't find anything she wanted, I had a sweater in the back that she might like. It was a sky blue crewneck with an embroidered midnight blue vine creeping along the hem. Alek was still playing with my hair, taking locks of it and twirling them around his fingers.

My phone buzzed again and he tensed up, but continued to twirl while I answered it. "It's Jasmine," I assured him and he leaned curiously in.

**I assume ur with my cuzin so im not gunna come watch u. b there 2nite. have fun ;)** **– Jasmine**

I grinned and texted back **Yah I'm with alek. glad 2 have ur approval. c u 2nite!**

Alek smiled. "I don't suppose I'm invited?"

"Nope. Girl's night. Besides, this will be an opportunity to catch up on your much needed sleep. Jasmine will be there to protect me, anyway," I said, leaning against the counter. I couldn't think of anything else to do. Everything had already been inventoried, I'd organized everything and refolded things just to be neat and all the orders were fine. It was 3:30 pm so I needed something to do for half an hour before Lana would come replace me.

"If you're bored, I have several ideas," breathed Alek, lingering by my ear.

"I'm going to restock with some stuff in the back. I _am _at work," I said, remembering once again the three new boxes of clothes that had come in.

I went into the back and grabbed the top box, carrying it to the counter and opening it with some scissors. Alek watched me curiously as I took each article of clothing out, mostly tops and skirts, and marked them in the inventory. Then I took them all and either hung them up or refolded them and neatly put them on a shelf. I was interrupted when the girl from earlier bought a pair of earrings, but I got through another box before my time was up.

"Hey Chloe, I'm here! Wow, you restocked?" said Lana, slowing as she did a double-take around the store. "I like you; you're the first friend that can get her to actually work.

"I'm afraid it's me and my cousin that have been stealing her away, so it was the least I could do," said Alek, before I could hush him. I glared and he smirked.

"Yeah, there's still another box in the back. It's been pretty slow so I hope you brought something to do. Bye," I said, taking Alek's hand as he waved goodbye to Lana. I rolled my eyes.

"It's four, Amy comes at five, and Mom gets home at six. That gives us, say, two hours? One and a half if you don't want to meet my Mom," I calculated.

"I've _already_ met your Mom," He reminded me with a sly grin. I shook my head as we treaded down the street.

"Let's go to your apartment to get Jasmine. And that doesn't count as a meeting. You need to actually meet her so she'll stop referring to you as 'the boy in my daughter's bed'. Which way to your apartment from here?" I asked, shuddering at the nickname Mom had, cleverly, come up with for Alek.

"This way," he said, chuckling. "I'd be happy to formally introduce myself. How do you imagine she'll react to the idea that I'm your boyfriend?"

I sighed. "Mom is pretty cool. _If_ she trusts that I told her the truth when you were in my bed, she should be fine. If not, I have no idea," I confessed. Mom was unpredictable which meant a lot of great surprises and a lot of dread before serious announcements.

"I guess I'll have to charm her with my charisma and good looks," said Alek, wrapping his arm around my shoulder as we rounded a corner.

"Don't forget your modesty," I laughed as he frowned down at me. His apartment building came into view quickly as we turned the next corner and before I knew it we were there. We took the elevator so that Alek could poke me every time we moved a floor. Of course, when I looked back at him he was standing innocently, but this was Alek. When we _finally_ got there and Alek opened the door, Jasmine ambushed me.

"Thanks for inviting me. I'm ready to go whenever," she said, gesturing to a tote bag beside the door.

"Kay. Does your Mom know about Alek and me?" I asked. She nodded.

"Mom guessed this morning when Alek left with the stupidest grin on his face. Wish I'd taken a picture," she said rolling her eyes at him. Alek, who was leaning over in the fridge called out in denial but Jasmine mouthed 'yeah right' at me.

"Chloe, so wonderful to see you! Thank you for inviting Jasmine out," said Valentina in her typically polite manner.

"My pleasure,"

"And for getting Alek out of our hair for copious amounts of time," she added.

"Also my pleasure, if you can believe that," I said.

"I need friends who don't verbally abuse me," decided Alek from the fridge area, standing up with an orange. I watched, semi-fascinated, as he peeled it with the claw on his forefinger.

"Want a slice?" he asked, noticing my gaze. I shook my head.

"No, thanks. Anyway, we should probably head out if we want to beat Amy. Not that she'd wait, or anything," I thought aloud. Alek nodded and Jasmine grabbed her bag.

"Bye Mom!" called Jasmine.

"See ya later Aunt Val," said Alek as he strutted out the door.

"Bye, Valentina," I smiled at her and she nodded, watching as the teenage Mai exited her home.

As we walked down the street Jasmine's eyes were darting around, calculating dangers, but Alek's never left me.

"What are we going to do tonight?" she asked, finally deciding that the dangers were minimal.

"TV, probably manicures, Amy will gossip, et cetera," I told her. She grinned.

"Just Amy? I happened to notice that you're not exactly hesitant when it comes to the spreading of tales," she laughed. I glared playfully.

"I don't gossip, I just nod and gasp at the appropriate times," I informed her. Alek grinned. Our fingers were entwined by his side.

My house came into view at the same time a cherry red bug did. Amy parked in the driveway as we approached and rushed up to us. "Hey! I am _so_ glad you're here Jasmine because," she began, when she saw our entwined hands. "Aaaah! Oh my god! You're right! Heart attack. Aaaah!" she squealed before tackling me – yes, tackling me – to the ground. Alek looked tempted to pull her off me, but Jasmine was laughing.

"Yeah, uh Amy. Enthusiasm appreciated, back pain not," I told her, pulling us up. Amy shrugged, not the least bit apologetic, and smiled at Alek.

"You should know that this means you're subject to questioning and/or hugs at all times. Just fair warning," she said with the most faux innocent look I've ever seen. Alek actually looked pale. Jasmine, who had stopped laughing, quickly began again, and it didn't take long for Amy and me to join her. Alek, who didn't take long to realize he was being made a fool, took on the look of the disgruntled jock that he was.

I grabbed his hand and dragged him into the house. "Here, give me your bag," I said to Jasmine as Amy lugged her two suitcases into my room. Amy didn't know what packing light was.

It was exactly 5 pm so I still had roughly an hour before my Mom came home. Between the four of us, I was _sure_ we'd find something to fill the time.


	3. Chapter 3

(Once again, thank you so much for all the reviews and suggestions!)

Chloe POV:

Although Alek was flush with suggestions, none of which were plausible, the end result of our activity choice was fairly harmless.

We had ended up watching TV, some show that Amy and Jasmine liked. It was all about some chick that went on a journey to Hollywood, but it had plenty of fight scenes for Jasmine and plenty of drama for Amy. Amy was in the chair, and Jasmine was on one end of the couch. I was up against the arm with my legs bent for Alec to lean on. As the show ended I heard Mom's car pull into the drive, which was my cue to climb off the couch and greet her.

"Hey Mom! Listen, can we talk maybe out here, for a sec?" I said. I heard Alek chuckle, and I doubted it was at the commercial for dish soap.

"Sure, honey. Did you order pizza, because if you didn't I'm craving Chinese," she said cheerily as I shut the door behind us.

"It sounds yummy! And dinner would be a great opportunity to get to know my new boyfriend!" I said, letting a little of my excitement drip into my voice. Her eyes widened as did her smile.

"Chloe, omigosh! That's great!"

"There's a catch," I confessed.

"There always is. Spill," she said with a less impressed look.

"Remember bed-boy?"

"No! Tell me he wasn't your boyfriend! Chloe!" she cried, crossing her arms.

"He wasn't _then_! He just, and we, and now… look, I promise, it was completely innocent. And he's Jasmine's cousin, anyway, so he's here, and Jasmine is sleeping over too tonight so she's here too, and you're not freaking out are you?" I asked in a rush.

She bit her lip. "I'm not freaking out _yet_. I trust you, so I'll have dinner with him. He better be very charming," she teased. I grinned.

"You are the best Mom on the planet," I said with a hug. I opened the door and ordered too low for her to hear "You heard all of that, so be charming,"

I heard him chuckle quietly as he and Jasmine stood.

"It's so nice to meet you Miss King. Chloe is always talking about you!" Jasmine schmoozed before walking over to me. "Charming enough for you?" she whispered into my ear. I laughed.

"Wasn't talking to you, but you're the best anyway," I whispered back. I nodded in her direction to Alek.

"A pleasure, Miss King. I'm Alek," he said, in his irresistible British accent. I smiled. He was actually going to make an effort.

"We've met," she said. I elbowed her. "Of course, I'm sure it won't always be quite such a shock to see you around now," she said, earning a glare. "By which I mean that it's always wonderful to see Chloe's friends," she said with a smile. She was done humiliating me, although we both knew I deserved it for having him in my room in the first place. Not that I chose to have him there, but she didn't know that.

He grinned. Amy came in then. "Hi Miss K!" she said with a hug.

"Hey Amy! Been a while since I saw you around here. Is Chinese good with you all? No allergies or vegetarianism, right?" she said, opening the drawer that housed our extensive array of takeout menus. A chorus of no's erupted from the guests so she called the restaurant and ordered everything they had that was edible. "Kay. Go watch TV or something. Be young. Your stares are creeping me out. I'll be in my room, Chloe, call me when the food gets here," she said, turning to go upstairs.

"So she approves?" asked Alek, letting just a hint of worry show in his eyes as he wrapped his arm around my shoulder again.

"I think so. Don't do anything stupid," I said.

"You wound me," he accused. Jasmine rolled her eyes.

"Want to go watch some more TV?" asked Amy. I nodded.

Suddenly my cell phone was singing the Batman theme. I opened it up to find a text from Paul, of course.

**hey Chloe-bear. wat up? tell amy I said hi. ttyl –ur sidekick**

"Chloe-bear?" said the boy standing behind me.

"Shut up," I said, grinning. "You can't mock me for stuff you read over my shoulder," I argued.

"I beg to differ _Chloe-bear_," he said, obviously enjoying his new ammunition.

"I'm going to kill Paul," I said, shooting him a reply. **Amy's here. so's alek. I'm dating him btw which is what Amy wanted 2 know. luv ya. ttyl – ur superhero**

"Aw, don't be violent, Chloe-bear. It's unbefitting," he said, walking back to the couch like he owned the place.

Amy and Jasmine were trying to hide their laughter as I glared at his back. He flopped down onto the couch without another thought and Amy was just as quick to return to her chair. Jasmine followed me back to the couch. This time, however, we switched places. She was next to the lounging Alek and I was sitting on the arm of the couch, letting my leg hang over.

I was a little bit happy to see the frown on Alek's face. Served him right. I'd always hated that nickname, but Paul never failed to call me by it at the worst possible time. He got up and sat next to me on the couch, pulling me down beside him. So low that only I could hear, and maybe Jasmine if she tried, he whispered, "Forgive me?" I grinned.

"Mm," I confirmed, wrapping my arms around his chest and leaning my head on his shoulder. He smiled and put his arms around me, too. We stayed like that for a few minutes until the doorbell rang and I had to get up to accept the food. I could smell it from here.


	4. Chapter 4

(Sorry the other chapter was so short – I'll make up for it in this one! I added in some new POV's; hope you like it!)

Jasmine POV:

As thrilled as I was the Alek and Chloe had (finally) gotten together, I was a little wary about this dinner. As Chloe wrestled all the bags of fast food to the counter and Amy set the table, leaving the plates at the end of the counter, I felt unusually helpless and out of place. This was normal for them, but I was new to the scene of sleepovers and friends. Alek, too, seemed to be a little awkward, standing by the counter as Chloe unpacked. Miss King walked down the stairs suspiciously but seemed to ease up when she saw that Alek wasn't even in the vicinity of touching Chloe.

Chloe set the plastic containers on the counter, in a neat line, and opened them all. "Okay, grab a plate and help yourself!" said Miss King, cheerily taking one from the pile Amy had left at the other end of the counter.

Amy quickly followed Miss King, but Chloe grabbed my arm. "C'mon. Dig in," she welcomed with a smile. Alek, of course, had no trouble following her directions, but I was careful not to overindulge. As we all sat down, me on one side of Chloe, Amy on the other, and Alek next to me, Miss King swerved from what I assume was her usual spot to sit in front of all of us.

"So, Alek and Jasmine, you're cousins, right?" she asked with a real, if exaggerated, smile.

"Yes," I said, nudging Alek with my foot as he smiled at her. We had to be 'charming' if we were going to earn Miss King's trust.

"I live with Jasmine and my Aunt Valentina," explained Alek. Then, surprisingly, "My parents died when I was young,"

"I'm so sorry," she said with an absolutely genuine frown. Sympathy was etched into her eyes. I noted that Chloe seemed to be pretty unhappy too, either from her empathy abilities or her feelings for Alek. He was skilled, I had to hand him that. There was no way Chloe's Mom could look at him as the evil boy in her daughter's bed when she knew that he'd lost his parents. But it also proved to me that he cared a lot about Chloe. He didn't like talking about his parents, and if he was willing to bring them up to further his relationship with Chloe's mother then he had to really want a relationship with her.

As we ate and carried on small talk, gradually moving away from our family and heading into meaningless topics, I was aware that Chloe kept glancing up at her Mom. It was apparent that they shared some sort of unspoken communication that came with several years of living alone together.

Dinner ended and Chloe volunteered to clean the dishes so her Mom could go rest, adding to her mother's good mood.

She began loading the plates and silverware into the dishwasher when I heard a creak outside. "Chloe, are you expecting anyone else?" She looked up curiously and shook her head. "Uh, I'm just going to check the front, okay?" I said, not wanting to be the lame overprotective one, but also not about to shirk my duties.

Alek frowned. "Did you hear something?" he asked.

I shrugged. "It's probably nothing," I said, walking to the door and silently opening it. On the porch there was a small package, wrapped in brown paper and twine. "Hey, someone left something for you," I said, grabbing it and setting it gently on the counter. There was a note tucked under the twine. "Here, it says 'From Brian, sorry about earlier'," I said with an immediate scowl as I reread and processed the note. Chloe rolled her eyes as she started the dishwasher.

"Throw it out," she said but Amy shook her head.

"Don't you even want to know what it is?"

"Not really," she said, closing all the packages of take out and loading them into the fridge. Alek wore a glare even more potent than mine.

"I'm going to go up then. The laptop will be loaded and ready by the time you get up there. Bring popcorn!" squealed Amy, wisely bouncing out of the room. I followed Chloe's instructions and tossed the box in the trashcan before following her up. As I arrived in Chloe's room, Amy was already setting up Chloe's laptop to play the show or movie or whatever. "Change into your PJ's!" said Amy, loading the disc and opening one of the suitcases. It was only 7:45 pm, but I was new to this so I obeyed, heading to the restroom to slip out of my clothes.

Chloe POV:

"Alek," I began but he shook his head. His arms were crossed over his chest and his knuckles were, once again, a pale white. "Alek, you know I don't like him anymore," I said, walking up to him. His eyes were closed and his breathing suggested that he was trying to calm himself down. I set my hands on his shoulders gently, internally begging him to relax. "He was a mistake; he's human and he's not what I want, anyway," I reminded him. His arms began to unwind a little, so I continued. "Alek, c'mon. He never met my Mom or came over or even kissed me," I told him quietly. He sighed.

"I know," he said, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me up against him. He rested his chin on my head as I moved my hands from his shoulder to the back of his neck. "Have fun tonight, okay?"

"Of course. What are you going to be doing?" I asked, moving my index finger in circles along the nape of his neck.

"Annoying Aunt Val. And catching up on my sleep. Just call me if you need me," He said, bending down to kiss the top of my head.

"Always," I murmured, maneuvering to peck him on the lips and lay my head in the crook of his neck. His arms around me made me feel indescribably safe; I didn't want him to leave.

"I'd better get going. Jasmine isn't known for her patience," he said with a note of aching in tone.

"I'll miss you. Don't do anything stupid, okay?" I pleaded with him. "Promise me you'll stay away from Brian and get some sleep. You look worn out," I said worriedly, twisting to look him in the eyes.

"I promise that unless he does something else to offend you I won't lay a hand on him," he said with his classic smirk. "And I'll do my best to sleep," he said before kissing my forehead. "I'll miss you too," he breathed quietly against my skin.

I watched as Alek walked out the door and got a safe distance away before running home. I jogged up the stairs and smiled at the pajama-clad Amy before grabbing my camisole and pajama pants to change into. I heard Jasmine in my bathroom so I decided to change in the hall bath. By the time I was back Jasmine was there with the popcorn I'd forgotten, sitting in boy shorts and a T-shirt. Amy was wearing a pink and purple nightgown.

"Yay! Buffy marathon! Chloe, did you know that Jasmine has never seen any Buffy episodes! It's appalling!" said Amy, not looking at all appalled but rather eager to introduce our new friend to the world of the vampire slayer.

"Well we'll just have to do something about that, won't we?" I giggled, plopping down on Jasmine's other side. The first episode started and we watched show after show for hours. By 2:30 am we had successfully finished nine episodes.

"Ugh, I'm so tired," moaned Jasmine, collapsing backwards into the pillows.

"Right there with ya, sister," groaned Amy with a smile big as Texas on her face. She always loved girls' night sleepovers.

"Same," I reiterated, closing my laptop and stowing it under my bed. "Wanna sleep?"

"Heck no!" chirped Amy. "We should do makeovers or manicures and gossip! Oh my gosh, we could dance!" she squealed. Jasmine groaned and shoved a pillow over her face, but not before I saw her grin.

"I really don't think Jasmine and I can do a dance party, but I'd be happy to participate in manicures!" I said. She jumped up and down before grabbing her second suitcase and opening it wide. Inside was a wide array of nail polishes and supplies. She shoved aside anything that didn't involve manicures or pedicures and put everything else on the floor.

"So, who's first?" she asked, unusually chipper considering that it was past two in the morning.

"I'll go. I need something to keep me up," said Jasmine, coming out of her pillow fortress to offer her nails up as she slid onto the floor.

"Choose a color," instructed Amy. While Jasmine chose from her variety, Amy jabbered on about nothing and everything. Jasmine chose a pretty shade of purple. It was dark, and almost a little blue, like the night sky just after the sun sets.

Amy carefully coated and recoated the polish on Jasmine's fingernails and blew on them before she put a top coat on. Amy grinned. "My turn!" she sing-songed, grabbing a glittery green nail polish.

I obediently did as she had, coating it first and waiting for it to dry before painting it on again while Amy chatted happily about Paul. "We need to get you a boyfriend, Jasmine, I'm sure there are some eligible Mai out there," she said. Jasmine and I shared a look. Unless the boy on the third floor was Mai, there wasn't anyone Jasmine was interested in. After I finished the top coat and Amy inspected her nails, I chose a sea blue nail polish and let Amy coat it on. Jasmine had claimed she felt guilty about not doing it for anyone, but Amy loved giving people manicures. By the time we were done it was almost 3 am and even Amy was willing to concede that it was time to go to sleep. We all slept on my bed, not that we had another option, but it wasn't too crammed. I wondered what Alek was doing, and then I was asleep.

Alek POV:

I arrived at the apartment building in record time, my fury fueling more powerful strokes of my legs. I took the elevator, hoping to cool down, but it only added to my impatience. I unlocked the door and took a quick listen. Aunt Val was in her office, but no one else was there that I had to worry about. The clock read 8:01 pm, but it was a little fast. "I'm home, Aunt Val!" I called, not wanting a knife in the back when a surprised Mai leader found someone in her home that wasn't before.

I wasn't hungry or tired, so I decided to watch some TV to try and dissuade my desire to track down Brian and rip his heart out. I'd promised Chloe that if he didn't do anything else I wouldn't hurt him, and I didn't want to ruin her trust in me. "It's about time. How did your meeting with Chloe's mother go?" she asked, floating into the room with the elegance of a ballerina, as usual.

"Good. She doesn't hate me, at least," I said. She frowned.

"Then why the anger?"

"Brian sent Chloe a gift to apologize," I growled his name. The desire was back, but at least Aunt Val was around to remind me that good people don't kill humans, outside of the Order.

"I see. You shouldn't get so upset about it. She doesn't care about him like she does you. Did you have dinner?" she said, being unusually motherly. I remembered how matters of love tended to bring out the nurturing side of her. When Jasmine was heartbroken over that human boy, she'd sat with her for two hours as Jasmine cried her heart out. It was sometimes hard to believe that this was the same woman who had called for us twice when she was away for three months, but I knew she loved us unconditionally. Well, almost unconditionally.

"Yeah, Chloe's Mom ordered Chinese," I muttered, channel surfing as I lounged on the couch. "Didn't you?"

"Not yet. I'm going to go out; I don't want to cook. Be good. There's no need to harm a human if they've done nothing to harm a Mai. If, however, he makes any move to hurt Chloe, I trust that you'll do only what is necessary to protect her," she chastised. I nodded.

"Yeah. I'm going to bed anyway. G'night," I said, turning off the TV and heading to my room. As I settled into the sheets I heard Valentina leave the apartment and enter the elevator. How was I going to sleep without Chloe?

Valentina POV:

I had wanted to tell him that Brian's father was in the Order, but it would just give him an excuse to harm the boy, or even kill him. I understood how he felt, but I wasn't going to let him do something to worsen the situation with the Order. Not that there were many ways to worsen the situation in the first place.

I knew he was trying to do what was best for Chloe, but feelings meant that the logic was taken from a decision. You had to look at something calmly for it to make sense. Emotion only clouded reason.

He couldn't help it. He was a passionate person, which he inherited from his mother, my sister. Lucia had been wonderfully zealous. Always coming up with something new to do. She'd loved her little boy more than anything in the world. I knew that in her last moments she was grateful that Alek was visiting us, in San Francisco. Where he would stay.

I sighed as I made my way towards the restaurant. What I wouldn't give to have her back, to have her to help me raise my children, one of whom was her son, so that I could give them all the love they deserved and still be the responsible Mai leader of San Francisco. That was impossible, of course. She was killed, along with thirty-two other Mai, by members of the Order. But it was a nice thought to hold onto.

Amy POV:

I was overjoyed that Chloe was with Alek. She needed someone like him, someone to keep her safe and still love her. Even though I'd been thrilled when she found Brian, I knew that it would never work, in spite of my encouragement. No kissing? C'mon, that's like, everything in Paul's relationship with me. And she and Alek were _so_ cute together! Ugh, I should be asleep right now!

Meredith King's POV:  
>It's about darn time they got together. Like I didn't know they were destined from the minute I saw him in my daughter's bed. I chuckled and rolled onto my side. And he seemed to really like her. He was a nice boy, charming. A shame he'd lost his parents, poor thing. Oh well, it's close to 3:30 am and even the girls have gone to bed.<p> 


End file.
